Capel tired of trying to figure Willie out?

[SoonerfanTU]

To call WW one of the best players in the history of OU basketball is a ridiculous joke and insult to all the elite players who gave their heart and soul to this program! His lack of effort and defensive intensity is bewildering. I am not suggesting he lacks the ability to be one of our better players, but I don't recall MEN like Najera, Hollis Price, Mookie, the Griffin brothers, etc... not hustling back on D after missed shots. I am angered every time he misses a deep 3, then hangs his head instead of hustling back to the other end! Tony Crocker and Cade Davis might not have half of Willie's ability. but they more than compensate for it with effort and intensity. If WW played with their heart, he might actually become the great player that was expected. I hope he pulls it together, because I don't think OU can be the team everyone hoped for without him. BOOMER SOONER!!

Great post. Give me a team full of good players that want to bust their tails over a group of great players that don't play hard, any day of the week.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

There is also more to how someone is playing than one game. Against Utah he won the game. He may not be performing like Blake Griffin did but he is doing a good job. Perhaps OU fans should allow the coaches to provide the criticism and instead focus on the job of a fan which is to be supportive.

I'm certainly not basing my criticism on one game. Far from it. The lack of effort has been there nearly all year, save a couple of games. I look at the Utah game much differently then you do.

There also isn't anything in the "fan book" that says fans can't criticize teams, players, and coaches. Nobody on this board is saying that Willie doesn't have the physical abilities. Nobody is hoping he fails. The only thing people are saying is that he is hurting the team more than helping it with the attitude, lack of hustle, and lack of defense. I'd rather have a guy that scores 10 and gives up 5, then a guy that scores 20 and gives up 20.

 

[OkieTC]

Even if every guy you mentioned in better than Willie Warren, that still makes him one of the best players in the history of OU basketball. It is just a true statement. He may not be one of the hardest working but he is clearly one of the best.

What exactly has Warren done that makes him one of the best? Talent wise he may be one of the best. But the best players are LEADERS! Whether through words or by example. And right now, his example is bad. Mope after missed shots and don't get back on defense. Not the example I hope the rest of the team follows! Play hard even when your shots are not falling. Rebound out of your area. Defend with intensity. That is the example that should be set. I hope Willie starts working hard every game. If he would work as hard as Crock and Cade, he would be a great player.

 

[Tony]

It was obvious who the leaders were last year. They led by example. The example WW put out there isn't one that champions want to emulate.

You never saw Blake and Taylor take plays off. It's called playing for the name on the front of the jersey instead of the name on the back.

I certainly did see Blake Griffin take plays off. For much of his freshman year he would quite literally walk up and down the court, and last year he regularly took defensive possessions off (ostensibly to stay out of foul trouble; maybe so, I'm not the one making value judgments).

I know there is this feeling out there that if Willie Warren would just come out and slap the floor like a Dookie, all of our problems would suddenly disappear. I don't think that is the case. Willie is going to be a big part of the solution to this season getting turned around, though.

Bocabull is right on this one IMO.

 

[soonerprices]

I have never seen a Sooner play as hard and sacrifice their body like Blake did. Cade is the closest to that on this team

 

[jmizzy4ou]

I certainly did see Blake Griffin take plays off. For much of his freshman year he would quite literally walk up and down the court, and last year he regularly took defensive possessions off (ostensibly to stay out of foul trouble; maybe so, I'm not the one making value judgments).

I know there is this feeling out there that if Willie Warren would just come out and slap the floor like a Dookie, all of our problems would suddenly disappear. I don't think that is the case. Willie is going to be a big part of the solution to this season getting turned around, though.

Bocabull is right on this one IMO.

Yep. He was criticized by some of the same posters who are roasting WW. Capel was successful in getting Blake to change his mind about hustle and defense, and I believe that he will do the same w/ WW.

 

[OUsky]

I have never seen a Sooner play as hard and sacrifice their body like Blake did. Cade is the closest to that on this team

Did you watch the Sampson years... and they played defense.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

Did you watch the Sampson years... and they played defense.

Agreed. Blake played hard, but he played no harder than Eduardo or Hollis did. Or even Gilbert. And those guys did it for 4 years. Blake did it for one season, maybe a season and a half.

 

[daqman]

This is BS. The people on here criticizing WW criticized Blake just the same. They called him immature. Said he needed to stop whining about every call. etc. It's nothing new around here. The peanut gallery is always taking shots at people 100 times more talented and successful than themselves.

As usual WW will put up a couple monster games and they will disappear until the next win where he doesn't "impress them".

yes we did say that.
and it took blake less than a semester to adjust his attitude. and the rest is history.
let's hope willie does the same. and soon.

 

[ousooners1baby]

His play reminds me of my kids. Picture kids in the floor playing ,laughing, really nothing wrong, loving life. Then Daddy says it's time for homework,clean your room,bath or whatever. All of a sudden they are not feeling good, start coughing and saying they have a headache. Does this remind you of anything?

I understand his shot is off and the way he shoots it will be. However his lack of hustle on the d end is absurd. You could tell last year that Jeff wanted Blake to avoid fouling out. I do not think that is the case this year.

 

[soonerprices]

Yes I did watch the KS years but in my opinion Blake out worked those guys. I was very impressed with how he dived on the floor after loose balls, dove out of bounds (over the scoring table) after loose balls, how physical he was on D and I know Kelvin had several guys that did this but what separates BG from all of those guys is how he took the ball to the rim. Nobody in the KS years took the ball to the rim with that much authority. I will admit that BG stood out because he was one of the few players on his team who played this way while KS's teams had 7 to 8 guys who played like that.

 

[Darwin]

This is not good news but we need to get use to things like this if Coach is pulling in top 20 players. Some kids don't have strong grounded family units that help keep their heads on straight and deal with their special circumstances. It's up to the college coaches to get through to them or they may wind up like Marcus Dupree. Its not just high profile athletes but any kid that doesn't understand how important it is to build your future during this time in your life.

 

[Gutter]

Agreed. Blake played hard, but he played no harder than Eduardo or Hollis did.

Don't forget Corey Brewer. Toughest player we ever had.

 

[Sooner Quick]

Re: If I am coach WW sets Monday.

I think it was the article from the DOK that said he had a bloody nose at one point, so that could have been it.

You are correct, he did at one point. He got checked for concussion and was cleared and went back in.

 

[buttermaker1]

his play reminds me of my kids. Picture kids in the floor playing ,laughing, really nothing wrong, loving life. Then daddy says it's time for homework,clean your room,bath or whatever. All of a sudden they are not feeling good, start coughing and saying they have a headache. Does this remind you of anything?

I understand his shot is off and the way he shoots it will be. However his lack of hustle on the d end is absurd. You could tell last year that jeff wanted blake to avoid fouling out. I do not think that is the case this year.

this

 

[MsProudSooner]

I think Coach Capel has figured Willie out, but gets frustrated because Willie is so inconsistent.

Like a lot of players, Willie is very emotional. That can be good or bad. I think the most important thing Willie needs to do is learn to how to control his emotions when he's not having a good game. Players are taught to develop a routine that they follow when shooting free throws. Willie need to develop a routine to follow when he doesn't play as well as he'd like at the beginning of games. If his shots aren't falling, he needs to play better on defense - not force the issue on offense. Once he quits concentrating on what's going wrong on the offensive end of the court, he'll be able to lose himself in the game and the shots will start to fall.

Coaches like to know what they are going to get from a player on a given night - no matter what the situation. Think back on the great players we've had - Blake, Hollis, Eduardo - you always knew what you were going to get in terms of effort from those guys. Not matter whether the shots were falling or not, they were going to give you a certain level of effort. That's what Willie hasn't learned to do yet. That doesn't make him a bad guy. That's just an example of immaturity.

 

[Sooner Quick]

Nicely said MsProud